Brazilian right-back Wesley has swapped Flamengo for Roma in a deal worth €25million plus add-ons and here, we take a closer look at what the Giallorossi are getting for their money.

Who Is Wesley?

Wesley Vinicius Franca Lima, to give him his full name, is a 21-year-old who has been playing for title-chasing Flamengo in his native Brazil. A key part of the team since his breakthrough in 2023, he has more than 130 games under his belt, a Brazilian Cup win and two Rio State Championships. And he has represented his country twice

Born in Maranhao in north-east Brazil, he was just two years old when his family moved to Florianopolis in the south. His climb to the top was not an easy one as he was dropped from the youth ranks by local team Figueirense while their rivals Avaí would not offer him a trial.

In August 2019, a teenage Wesley joined Atletico Tubarao – and don’t worry if you haven’t heard of them, they were founded as recently as 2005 and have never played higher than the fourth tier. Wesley made his first-team debut there in January 2021, aged 17. From there he quickly earned a trial at Flamengo and they agreed to sign him within 48 hours.

He broke into the Under-20s in 2021, made his first-team debut in 2022 and became one of the first names on the teamsheet in 2023 – playing more than 50 games that season. Now, just as World Cup-winning captain Cafu did in 1997, Wesley makes the move from the Brazilian Serie A to the Italian Serie A, and specifically to AS Roma.

What Can Roma Expect?

For every Cafu, there are a dozen or more that did not go down in history, and to be fair, even the 142-times capped world champion failed to shine on his first big move to Europe. Cafu had joined Real Zaragoza in Spain in 1995 but 15 appearances later he was back in Brazil. Success in Europe came at the second attempt.

It is not easy for a young South American upping sticks. Language, culture and playing style can be problematic and many South Americans are successful for their country or in the Copa Libertadores but it might not tick for them in Europe. Roma will be hoping this isn’t the case with Wesley.

He has taken the long route though. Battling through Brazilian youth football and making it at Flamengo suggests he is up for a challenge, something that comes across in his playing style too.

Wesley is fearless, energetic and hard as nails for a man who has a slender figure and stands at 5ft 8in. His pace and ability to get up and down the line in attack and defence are probably his biggest strengths. Dogged one-on-one defending, intense pressing and linking up with attacking play are all a part of Wesley’s game. The right-back role is his for the taking and Roma are not spending this significant sum on a squad player.

In Wesley’s final game for Flamengo he scored an 85th-minute winner away to RB Bragantino and has two goals and three assists in 2025. That’s five goal contributions in half a season – the same number he reached in 2023 and 2024 combined.

Any Negatives?

You could say he was a bit unfortunate and might have felt like he was thrown to the lions at the Colosseum when he started for Brazil against Argentina in Buenos Aires back in March. That was a baptism of fire on a disastrous night for Brazil.

They lost 4-1 and Wesley looked like a rabbit in headlights, but so did the whole team. The fact that he was picked to play in that game shows how far he has come but he received plenty of criticism after waves of Argentinian attack got through.

With eight yellow cards in 28 games this year, his disciplinary record could improve too, but that is normal for a defender with an aggressive style. The South American game tends to be more end-to-end than in Italy anyway, leaving Wesley in situations where he might have to commit more, or even find himself outnumbered as a fellow defender has stepped up. It might speak to the style of Brazilian football more than anything, but obviously as a defender who likes to attack he can be left vulnerable to the counter.

The biggest ‘if’ about this move is whether or not Wesley, the player and person, can adapt to life in a new country and a new league. Wesley and Roma will be hoping he can follow in the footsteps of Cafu.